Apple iRadio stumbles as Google's music service races on

Sony proving a tough nut to crack

Apple has reportedly just signed a deal with Universal Music for what is expected to be its fabled iRadio service, but it looks like other negotiations are struggling along.

The Universal clinch sees iRadio (at least that's what the internet is currently calling it) take another step towards being an actual thing.

However, sources have told the Financial Times that final negotiations with Warner Music are still ongoing, while Sony is proving a bit tougher to get on board.

But Cupertino might want to get the ball rolling as quickly as possible if its wants to beat Google to the punch. Google is said to have been chasing licences for its own Google Play streaming music service, which we may see surface soon.

Riot on the radio

Sources told the paper that Apple's service will be free of charge, funded via advertising, and will work like Pandora with a few more on-demand features.

But even though Google is in the race, we still don't know how many licences it has actually acquired, meaning Apple could easily still get in there first. It was said that Apple had hoped to introduce iRadio alongside the iPhone 5 last year.

Could Google take advantage of next week's Google IO to generate some early buzz? Given what we know right now, it's definitely possible.